Pope appoints new Nuncio to the Philippines

MANILA — Pope Francis has appointed Italian Archbishop Gabriele Giordano Caccia as the new Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines.The Vatican made the announcement on Tuesday at 12 noon (6pm, Manila time), a day after the pontiff arrived back in Rome from a 5-day apostolic visit to Colombia.At the time of his new assignment, the 59-year-old archbishop was nuncio to Lebanon, a position he has held for the past eight years, since 2009.Caccia’s new post in Manila will be his second assignment as papal ambassador, succeeding Archbishop Giuseppe Pinto, also an Italian, who was transferred to Croatia in July this year.A native of Milan, Caccia was born on February 24, 1958, and ordained as a priest on June 11, 1983.In September 2009, he was elevated to the rank as of archbishop.Prior to his appointment in Lebanon, Archbishop Caccia was the Assessor for General Affairs of the Vatican’s Secretariat of State.CBCPNews